Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Open Letter to My Apathetic Friends

"i have managed to live 57 years not caring - i feel less stressed than the average American - i was never under the illusion that the government cared about me - i am sure the government doesn't care about me so i am not disappointed when they do yet another thing to fuck with me - i expect to be fucked with and since i don't pay attention to the news, i don't even know when i am being fucked with, and i simply don't care. it is the way of the world. government fucks with the people."

Those words come from a very dear friend of mine, a friend of over 30 years. She regularly reads my blog and comments privately to me at least once a week. Her words are in reaction to my latest series of political posts on the Occupy Movement.

I recognize that many millions are not involved in the political process for precisely the reasons she gives. But feeling powerless is not simply a reaction to the way things are. No, in fact, the systems of government, commerce and finance actively attempt to persuade us to become apathetic. Occupy Wall Street and the OWC spawned encampments around the world are ever so slowly beginning to frighten the fat 1%. "They" are, in turn, reaching out to their politicians and other elected and appointed officials, like police administrations. "They" want this potential disruption to their rigged system to stop before it reaches critical mass.

Too late!

So what I say to my apolitical and apathetic friends is this - you can help us and help yourself, in some very simply ways. Emails written from home make a difference. Donations of food, clothing, books, cleaning supplies - all help the Occupy encampments.

But more importantly, I ask you to take seven minutes to watch the TED talk I have linked to below. Trust me, just a few minutes will get you to think very differently about your active choice to be apathetic. The same few minutes will also serve as a reminder to liberals, conservatives, centrists and nearly anyone wondering about the extent of corporate complicity in the manufacturing of inequality around the world.